Wing-type scaffold system

ABSTRACT

A scaffold system for use in the construction and maintainance of a building. The scaffold includes a main-cage section having hingedly connected thereto and on opposite sides thereof, two wing sections. The cage is supported by a hoist cable secured to the building and each of the wing sections are carried by cage section and stabilized by stabilizing or safety cables connected to the building. By appropriate manipulation, the wing sections can be pivoted in a vertically upward direction so as to telescopically surround the main cage section thereby permitting the entire scaffold to be raised or lowered about obstacles which would obstruct vertical movement of the scaffold with the wing sections extended. The scaffold can be moved laterally by disconnecting the stabilizing cables and reconnecting them at a laterally displaced position. The hoist cable is thus holding the entire scaffold in position and as the hoist cable is released, the stabilizing cables pick-up the load and the scaffold can thus swing to the new laterally displaced position. Other features permit the scaffold to be moved about the corner of a building. Scaffolds can also be constructed wherein the wing sections are angularly positioned with respect to the main cage. This angular positioning permits use of the scaffold in connection with the construction of cylindrical vessels such as tanks and towers.

United States Patent [191 Newton [451 Sept. 23, 1975 WING-TYPE SCAFFOLD SYSTEM [22] Filed: June 21,1974

[21] Appl. N0.: 481,492

[76] Inventor:

[52] US. Cl. 182/112; 182/131; 182/142; 182/152 [51] Int. Cl. E04G 3/10 [58] Field of Search 182/142, 112, 113, 131, 182/152, 223

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,101,182 6/1914 Hayward 182/131 2,541,556 2/1951 Stinson 182/223 2,998,094 8/1961 Fisher 182/142 3,386,530 6/1968 Thompson. 182/112 3,516,512 6/1970 Kupke 182/131 Primary Examiner-Reinaldo P. Machado Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Gerald S. Geren [57] ABSTRACT A scaffold system for use in the construction and maintainance of a building. The scaffold includes a main-cage section having hingedly connected thereto and on opposite sides thereof, two wing sections. The cage is supported by a hoist cable secured to the building and each of the wing sections are carried by cage section and stabilized by stabilizing or safety cables connected to the building. By appropriate manipulation, the wing sections can be pivoted in a vertically upward direction so as to telescopically surround the main cage section thereby permitting the entire scaffold to be raised or lowered about obstacles which would obstruct vertical movement of the scaffold with the wing sections extended.

The scaffold can be moved laterally by disconnecting the stabilizing cables and reconnecting them at a laterally displaced position. The hoist cable is thus holding the entire scaffold in position and as the hoist cable is released, the stabilizing cables pick-up the load and the scaffold can thus swing to the new laterally displaced position. Other features permit the scaffold to be moved about the corner of a building.

Scaffolds can also be constructed wherein the wing sections are angularly positioned with respect to the main cage. This angular positioning permits use of the scaffold in connection with the construction of cylindrical vessels such as tanks and towers.

4 Claims, 21 Drawing Figures US Patent Sept. 23,1975 Sheet 1 of7 3,907,066

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US Patent Sept. 22,1975 Sheet 4 of? 3,907,066

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US Patent Sept. 23,1975 Sh6et 5 of? 3,907,066

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US Patent Sept. 23,1975 Sheet 6 of7 3,907,066

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1 WING-TYPE SCAFFOLD SYSTEM BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to scaffolds and in particular, scaffolds of the type used in the construction and maintenance of a building.

At the present time, one of the major problems associated with the use of scaffolds is that they are not of a sufficient length to permit the construction workers using the scaffold to range over large lateral distances without moving the scaffold. Those scaffolds which are relatively long are difficult to raise and lower at construction sites because of the fact that often times obstructions are present which prevent movement of the scaffold vertically.

It is an object of this invention to provide a scaffold system which permits the construction workers to have relatively large lateral range and which permits the scaffold to be readily raised and lowered even in the presence of certain obstructions.

In the construction of towers or cylindrical storage tanks, the normal scaffold presents a problem that if its center is adjacent the tower, the extreme ends of the scaffold are displaced from the tower. The longer the scaffold, the further its ends are from the tower. Since construction workers can only work safely and effectively if the scaffold is within one foot of the tower, only relatively short scaffolds have been used. This prevents the workers from having the relatively large lateral range required in the construction or maintainance of cylindrical vessels.

It is therefore another object of this invention to provide a scaffold system which can be used in the construction of cylindrical towers and vessels and which permit construction workers to range over relatively large lateral distances and still be relatively close to the tower.

These and other objects of this invention will become apparent from the following description and appended claims.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION There is provided by this invention a scaffolding system which meets the aforesaid objects. This system comprises a wing-type scaffold having a center or main cage section and two wings hingedly connected thereto. The wings are arranged to move between a horizontal position and a vertical position and when the wings are in the horizontal position, workers on the scaffold have a relatively large lateral range. The wings can be pivoted upwardly with respect to the main cage so as to reduce the effective length of the scaffold and thereby permit the scaffold to be moved around obstructions. A cable system is provided which permits convenient vertical or lateral movement of the entire scaffolding system.

In an alternative embodiment, the wing-type scaffold is arranged so that the wings are positioned in angular relation to the main cage so that the scaffold can be used in conjunction with cylindrical towers or tanks. Adjustable means are provided for controlling the amount of angular displacement of the wings and the main cage section.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. I is a perspective view of a scaffold having a main cage and with the wings extended;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the scaffold shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a front elevational view of the scaffold shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a front elevational view similar to FIG. 3 but with the wings of the scaffold pivoted toward a vertical position;

FIG. 5 is a front elevational view similar to FIG. 4 but with the wings of the scaffold in a fully telescoped position;

FIG. 6 is a diagrammatic perspective view ofa winch and drive system for raising and lowering the main cage of the scaffold;

FIG. 7 is a side elevational view of the main cage and is taken substantially along line 77 in FIG. 3;

FIGS. 8, 9, and 10 are front elevational views showing the manner in which the scaffold system is moved laterally from one position to another;

FIGS. 11 and 12 are perspective views of the scaffold and the comer of a building showing the manner in which the scaffold is moved around the corner;

FIG. 13 is a sectional view showing a clamp used to grasp the cables used in connection with the scaffold;

FIGS. I4, 15 and 16 are front elevational views showing the manner in which the scaffold is moved down' wardly and around in obstruction;

FIG. 17 is a perspective view showing the scaffold in the collapsed position and secured to an I-beam framework for a building under construction;

FIG. 18 is an enlarged elevational view showing a telescoped extension fitted to the top of the main cage;

FIG. 19 is a perspective view showing a cylindrical tank with a series of angular wing-type scaffolds positioned about the inner and outer surfaces thereof;

FIG. 20 is a top plan view of the tank in FIG. 19; and

FIG. 21 is a top plan view showing the adjustable. angular connection between the main cage and a wing.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Scaffold Structure Referring now to FIGS. 1 3, there is shown a scaffold 10 generally which includes a main cage section 12 and two wing sections 14 and 16. The wing sections are pivotally connected to the main section adjacent to the lower end thereof.

The main cage section 12 is a box-like structure fabricated of tubular metal. At the bottom end of the main section, there is provided a winch 17 which is rotatable about a horizontal axis. A hoist cable 18 is secured at one end of the winch and extends upwardly therefrom to a point where it is attached to a building or other support. At the top end of the cage there is provided a vertically telescoping rail section 19, for enabling a man to stand at the top of the cage. This feature can best be seen in FIG. 18.

Within the cage, there is provided an upstanding frame-like guide section 20. The guide section is divided into two-sub-sections by the member 24 and the hoist cable 18 is guided in the left hand section. A safety cable 26 is secured at its top end to the building and extends downwardly therefrom towards the ground. It will be noted that the two cables lie in a plane generally parallel to the building. The lower end of the safety cable may be weighed or its own weight may be sufficient to keep it in a taut condition.

The cage is secured to the safety cable 26 by a safety clamp 28 which is mounted to the cage and through which the cable passes. As seen in FIG. 13, the safety clamp 28 includes an elongated body section 28a having a longitudinal cable-receiving bore 28b which extends through the body section. Two arm receiving recess sections 28c and 28:! are provided on opposite sides of the body section 28a and open to the bore 28b. Two cam-type lock arms 282 and 28f are pivotally connected to the body section in the respective arm receiving recesses by pivot pins such as 283 and 28/1. The arms are pivoted off-center and are arranged to grip the cable by virtue of a cam-locking action initiated either by closing the arms or the friction of the cable moving against the arms.

The clamp is arranged to be activated by a downward force on the clamp which results in a relative upward movement of the cable.

Referring back to FIG. I, it is seen that the clamp 28 is secured to the main cage. Thus, in the event that the hoist cable should fail, the weight of the cage pulling on the clamp arms locks the clamp to the safety cable.

In order to raise or lower the main cage and the scaffold, the winch 17 can be provided with any of several types of drive systems. In FIG. 6 there is shown a drive system in which a bevel pinion gear 30 is secured to one end of a shaft 32 which connects to the drum of the winch. An air power tool (not shown) having as its drive, another bevel pinion gear 34 is provided so that the operator can engage the two bevel pinion gears and thereby cause the winch to rotate and thus take up the hoist cable and move the main cage upwardly or let out the hoist cable to permit downward movement of the scaffold.

Each of the wings of the scaffold include a platform section such as 36 having safety rails such as 38 and 40 secured to the sides thereof. The rails 38 and 40 are connected at one end of the scaffold by removable safety chains such as 41 and 42.

An upstanding stabilizing cable guide member 44 is pivotally secured to the platform adjacent the end. The securement can be by means of a hook and eye type arrangement 46. At the upper end of the guide member, there is provided a cable-eye 48 through which a stabilizing or safety cable such as 50 passes. The upper end of the cable 50 is secured to the building while the lower end is weighted.

Safety clamps such as 52 and 54 are mounted to the guide member so as to hold the wing in fixed relation to the cable as men are working on the scaffold. These clamps are similar in construction to the clamp 28 as previously described. It will be appreciated that as a man is working at one end or another end of the scaffold and if the stabilizing cables and safety clamps are not present, the scaffold could pivot about the winch axis.

COLLAPSING OF SCAFFOLD Referring now to FIGS. 3, 4 and 5, it will be seen that the scaffold can be collapsed so as to reduce its length and thereby permit it to move around obstacles. The first step in collapsing the scaffold is to move the stabilizing cables 50 and from their anchored positions directly above the ends of the scaffold to anchored positions adjacent the hoist cable 18 and the safety cable 26. In order to do this, the clamps 52 and 54 must be released and slack taken through them, and the clamps then reset.

Next, the main cage is lowered by first releasing the safety clamp 28 and then operating the winch so as to play out the cable. As this occurs, the outboard ends of the wings pivot upwardly and toward one another. The rails such as 38 and 40 on the wings are spaced apart a distance greater than the width of the main cage and thus, as the wings move upwardly, they can telescope over the main section. As the main cage is moving downwardly, the wing guide members such as 44 also pivot in the eye such as 46 to a vertical position. In order to permit complete collapse of the scaffold, the safety end chains such as 41 must be removed so as to permit the guide members to move to their fully vertical position as shown in FIG. 5.

As seen in FIG. 5, the scaffold is collapsed so as to have very small lateral dimension. Now the scaffold can be raised or lowered and avoid obstacles which would have obstructed the movement of the Wings 14 and 16. In order to reopen the scaffold, the stabilizing cables are moved to their extended position and the main cage is moved upwardly which permits the wings to pivot outwardly and downwardly to their extended position. The opening of the scaffold is merely the reversing of the closing thereof.

An additional wing-lifting safety clamp 54 can be secured to the cage hoist cable 18. A wing-lifting cable 56 can be secured at one end to one of the clamp arms, trained through a pulley 58, which is secured to the main cage and be secured at the other end 60 to the wing 16 between its ends. A similar arrangement is provided on the other side. As the main cage is lowered, this cable acts to assure smooth and proper collapse of the scaffold.

Referring now to FIGS. I4, 15 and 16, there is shown a scaffold arrangement in which only one wing 14 is moved upwardly as the entire scaffold I0 is being moved downwardly so as to avoid an obstruction such as 62. Once past the obstruction, the wing 14 is lowered to its normal position.

LATERAL MOVEMENT OF THE SCAFFOLD Referring now to FIGS. 8, 9 and 10, it will be seen that the scaffold I0 is supported from a building section by the hoist cable 18 and stabilizing cables 26, 50 and 51. In order to move the scaffold laterally, the stabilizing and safety cables are slackened and moved to the new desired position for the scaffold. Next, the winch is operated so as to lower the scaffold on the hoist cable thereby permitting the scaffold to swing lat erally until it is fully supported by the safety cables 26, 50 and SI and by the safety clamps 28, 52 and 54. Then the hoist cable is moved to its new supporting position and is drawn up tight.

In order to swing around a corner, the operation is basically the same as the lateral movement. Referring to FIGS. 11, and 12, it will be seen that the safety cables 50a, 26a and 510 are slackened and moved to the new position. The hoist cable 18a is then released and then the scaffold swings around the corner at which position it is supported from the safety cables. Then the hoist cable is released and moved to its new position and drawn up tight.

Referring to FIG. 17, it is seen that the scaffold can be moved in the collapsed condition and need not be moved only in the extended position. The operation is basically the same in which the safety cables are moved from one secured position to another while the hoist cable is left stationary and then the scaffold is lowered on the hoist cable until the safety cables pick up the load. Then the hoist cable is secured to its new position.

ANGULAR SCAFFOLD SYSTEM Referring now to FIG. 19, it will be seen that the vessel 70 is constructed from a plurality of concentric rings such as 70a, 70b and 700 which in effect are stacked one upon another to build up the vessel. Each of the rings are formed from a plurality of segments such as 700', 70a and 70a'. In constructing the vessel the lowest ring is set up on ground level and then lugs are welded near the upper edges so that scaffold cables can be attached thereto. Workers on the scaffold then raise the scaffold to working height and erect the next ring. Thereafter, another set of lugs are welded to the top of that ring. Next the scaffold safety cables are moved to the new lugs while the scaffold is supported by the hoist cables. After the scaffold is fully supported by the safety cable then the hoist cable is moved to the new lugs and the entire scaffold moved upwardly and the next ring is then erected.

With reference now to FIGS. 19, and 21, the angular scaffolds are used in connection with the erection or maintenance of a cylindrical tank such as 70. An angular scaffold such as 72 includes a main cage section such as 74 and two wing sections such as 76 and 78. The wing sections pivot about hinge connection 80 and 82 at the sides of the main cage. If it is so desired, a series of scaffolds can be arranged about the periphery of the tank so as to form a continuous platform. It will be appreciated that only in certain conditions will the scaffolds be of a size such that they will continuously and without overlap or gap extend about the entire 360. Therefore, it may be necessary, in order to provide the continuous scaffold, to provide one of the scaffolds with wings of a different length. This can easily be done by interchanging the wings at the hinge connection. The number of scaffolds which will be required to fit around the tank will be dependent upon the size of the tank, the size of the scaffolds and the angular relation of the scaffold wings and cage relation. The scaffolds as used on the outside can also be used on the inside of the tank in situations demanding interior scaffolds.

In some conditions, it is desirable to vary the angular relationship of the wing to the main cage section. This can be done by providing a pair of slidable plates having alignment apertures therein. Thus, by pivoting the wing section such as 78 about an inner pivot point 84, various apertures in the adjustment plate can be exposed. An appropriate nut and bolt or pinning arrangement is provided to hold the wing in fixed angular relation to the main cage. This adjustment permits the control of the positioning of the end of the wings with re spect to the tank so that workers on the scaffold can work safely and close to the tank.

It will be appreciated that numerous changes and modifications can be made to the embodiment shown herein without departing from the spirit and scope of this invention.

What I claim and desire to secure by letters Patent of the United States is:

l. A scaffold system for use in constructing or maintaining a building which includes platform means, hoist cable means connected to the platform means and the building for raising and lowering the platform and safety cable means connected to the platform and the building for preventing accidental downward movement of the platform, wherein the improvement comprises said platform means including: main cage means connected to said hoist cable means and said safety cable means; and a pair of elongated wing-type scaffold sections, each of said wing-type sections being of substantially greater length than the length of said main cage means, each of said sections being pivotally connected to said main cage means on opposite lateral sides thereof and each of said sections being adapted for movement between an extended substantially horizontal position and a collapsed substantially vertical position adjacent said main cage means; wherein said main cage means is vertically elongated and each of said wing-type scaffold sections are connected to said cage at a position on a lower portion of the cage; and wherein there is further provided a pair of stabilizing cables, one member of the pair associated with each of said wing-type scaffold sections, with each cable connected to the section adjacent the outboard end thereof, and each cable being adapted to prevent accidental downward movement of the scaffold so as to prevent pivoting of the entire scaffold.

2. A scaffold system as in claim 1 wherein a plurality of safety clamp means are provided, each of which are adapted to connect a safety cable or a stabilizing cable to said platform means for preventing accidental downward movement of said platform relative to said cable.

3. A scaffold system as in claim 2 wherein each safety clamp means includes body means adapted to slideably surround a cable, and cable-engaging arm means for lockingly engaging said cable; said arm means being secured to said body at one end, and the other end arranged for securement to said platform.

4. A scaffold system as in claim 1 which is adapted for use with cylindrical vessel wherein there are further provided means for angularly positioning said wingtype sections with respect to said main cage means, said means including means for permitting said wing-type section to pivot about a substantially vertical axis and means for securing said scaffold in said angular relation. 

1. A scaffold system for use in constructing or maintaining a building which includes platform means, hoist cable means connected to the platform means and the building for raising and lowering the platform and safety cable means connected to the platform and the building for preventing accidental downward movement of the platform, wherein the improvement comprises said platform means including: main cage means connected to said hoist cable means and said safety cable means; and a pair of elongated wing-type scaffold sections, each of said wing-type sections being of substantially greater length than the length of said main cage means, each of said sections being pivotally connected to said main cage means on opposite lateral sides thereof and each of said sections being adapted for movement between an extended substantially horizontal position and a collapsed substantially vertical position adjacent said main cage means; wherein said main cage means is vertically elongated and each of said wing-type scaffold sections are connected to said cage at a position on a lower portion of the cage; and wherein there is further provided a pair of stabilizing cables, one member of the pair associated with each of said wing-type scaffold sections, with each cable connected to the section adjacent the outboard end thereof, and each cable being adapted to prevent accidental downward movement of the scaffold so as to prevent pivoting of the entire scaffold.
 2. A scaffold system as in claim 1 wherein a plurality of safety clamp means are provided, each of which are adapted to connect a safety cable or a stabilizing cable to said platforM means for preventing accidental downward movement of said platform relative to said cable.
 3. A scaffold system as in claim 2 wherein each safety clamp means includes body means adapted to slideably surround a cable, and cable-engaging arm means for lockingly engaging said cable; said arm means being secured to said body at one end, and the other end arranged for securement to said platform.
 4. A scaffold system as in claim 1 which is adapted for use with cylindrical vessel wherein there are further provided means for angularly positioning said wing-type sections with respect to said main cage means, said means including means for permitting said wing-type section to pivot about a substantially vertical axis and means for securing said scaffold in said angular relation. 